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Lance Cruz

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Everything posted by Lance Cruz

  1. Increasing, enriching and standardizing the lexicon, will most certainly be done with valuable feedback and reader input. There are many technically literate engineers and artisans, who can add interesting source words from their field of experience, which could evolve into Afrikaans versions for many of the English cycling terms.
  2. Country has vast touring bike potential. The gravel bike movement has taken riders into areas where the mountain bike racing routes don't always go. Some of the Karoo gravel rides that have happened this year, especially a recent 'epic; into the Tankwa, are the stuff of legends. Whether you do it on a steel gravel bike or roll 2.1" fast-rolling tyres on your 29er hardtail, it doesn't matter. Get out there. Explore. As Weg has proven: South Africa has nearly limitless potential for domestic tourism/traveling. And bikes are a wonderful way of doing that. Local communities are swift to react to new trends. We could see a range of new overnight facilities for touring riders, in some great locations, at very fair prices: bed, shower, single meal.
  3. Orientation appears northbound. Probably routing to Donkergat, for continuation training with 4SF.
  4. My understanding is that a small group of radicals are holding the community hostage, with the promise of undeliverable expectations. The uncomfortable truth, if you matrix the housing issue in Stellenbosch, is that the Jonkershoek informal community simply don't have the numbers, or location, to be a priority for local government. Will Cape Nature allow a housing project on its land, bordering a nature reserve? If an angel investor and NGO manages to deliver the swift miracle housing solution, considering how few people there actually are, does this trigger massive protests on the other side of town? All I know is, it's been a very cold winter here. Which we are grateful for, in terms of the water table, but living in an informal home, in the shadow of those peaks, creates horrible TB conditions. And people who are desperate, will be lead astray by radicals promising the undeliverable. There are some very clever people who live in the valley and have a better understanding of the issues, and more resources, than most of us. We hope they enter the debate to mediate.
  5. Broadly there appears to be an issue with supplying what amounts to a public works project and service delivery, on land which is being leased by one entity – and in principle belongs to a national government agency. An agency which serves to protect ecology – an aim usually diametrically opposed to housing projects. The Jonkershoek valley has a low saturation point for absorbing relatively unskilled labour – here aren’t any massive fruit farms, for instance. And in the hierarchy of demand, there are a great deal more people who are clustered together in a more serviceable scale, and have been waiting far longer, for homes and service delivery, on the other side of Stellenbosch. Priority for local government is to serve the need on the north western side of town, not in the Jonkershoek valley. That last issue undoes much of the claim currently being tabled by the protesting faction. A faction which also appears to have no community cohesion – and is resorting to extreme tactics in an attempt to elicit any response from stakeholders who control resources. A very uncomfortable impasse. I don’t think a mountain biking show of force would do any good – and I’m a daily Jonkershoek rider. The only solution will be found between community leaders, MTO, Cape Nature, local government and the private land owners who border the informal settlement. We hope for resolution, as the Jonkershoek nature reserve in itself, does serve as a relief zone for many outdoor enthusiasts.
  6. A very expensive product is by definition low volume, hence any definition around its demand is relative. I guess Rolls-Rolls and its South African business is an analogy of sorts for this. But if you want them locally, you can get them. In both instances (Rolls-Royce and the wheels). Officially.
  7. As some forum members have mentioned, one must analyse content in its relevance to a specific audience. BusinessInsider is not BikeHub. And I’ve enjoyed writing for both. The departure point for this article was never about the lightest possible wheels, and nowhere was there a claim as such. It was about finding a set of wheels, which had official local distribution, at an invoice price – instead of a mere European online purchase conversion price. Contextualisation is a crucial aspect of all content. And for an audience which is perhaps not immersed in the cycling word, overly technical comparisons serve absolutely no purpose in lieu of their lower product literacy. Therefore, the MacBook was used as a basis of comparison on weight, because Apple is a celebrated design icon and many business people and marketing professionals used Macs, therefore they possess a reference experience of sorts. Concerning the weights, a caveat was stated that the individual wheels (front and rear) would tally less than a late model Mac. If all creative writing and metaphor was an attempt at being literal, the world of content would be a rather boring engineering handbook. Chronicling the human experience would be rather boring without metaphor – and metaphor is never literal. Therefore, seemingly unconventional comparisons are often more powerful and best remembered, linking subconscious familiarity with something new. But we hardly want to disappear down the rabbit hole of linguistics and creative writing. On the issue of flights. You can certainly fly two people return for just over R100 000, OR Thambo to Hong Kong, or Europe. Not necessarily if you book a 24th of December flight on the afternoon of the 23th, but within reason, the value offering is achievable. Online flight costs and those of service providers into the corporate travel market vary, but I fly regularly enough to know that number is real. The critique of a Scapel being a gravel grinder in practical purpose? If we took the usage data of all the local Cannondale Scalpel Si-Blacks, and calculated the time spent on singletrack versus jeep track, would it be an unreasonable conjecture to imagine that the gravel road riding might total to a majority of the non-tar mileage? I suspect that could be the case.
  8. Seeing it separated into frames, you always think what the rider could have done. But he's effectively a passenger, that sequence is running at 1/2500th of second. That's a lot faster than a blink of the eye.
  9. Outstanding capture of a very unfortunate event. Frame rate and focus tracking collaborated perfectly.
  10. I live to the right of where that image was taken. The narrow side access is for all intents and purposes a Labrador walking path. And honestly I'd rather put myself in harms way on the road, than endanger a Lab. The issues pertaining to the width and winding nature of the footpath explains why you ride in the road, and Jonkershoek is not a place where driving quickly is tolerated by the locals - for good reason, many blind farm entrances and no room for evasive action. I've never had somebody in a car get impatient with me, the valley is a place where you're never in a hurry - nor should you be. When I very occasionally drive to the gate, it's 50kph, cruise mode. Many farm labourers and kids walk and play in that lane too, it's also a waiting area for taxi transport. I don't feel it's ever fit for a bicycle, except if you are taking a little one on a slow ride with dad. Stellenbosch is very bike aware, people don't scrub you with a wing mirror.
  11. Don't be lured by distance, it works on a very different scale down in CL. In Stellenbosch 30km can become a 1000m ride. A 50km day is a very big ride out there - at least for me. Do one day at Jonkers. Then link G-spot/Eden/Mont Marie on another day. Some sound advice from other posts here on the other venues a bit further afield, such as Grabouw.
  12. 160mm 650b. Light bike 30mm id carbon rims. 1x10 #becausecheapskate. Pike front. Kashima factory rear. SLX stoppers.
  13. My intention with the article was for it to be a departure point for collaborative debate, which is certainly has. Would like to thank those who have had real-world experiences with partners using e-bikes – due to health or fitness reasons – and benefiting, for their contributions. Adds substance to my estimate that this is certainly a great ebike benefit. Trail damage potential and access issues and arguments, I do believe my original conjecture about these have stood up to scrutiny. I was virulently anti e-bike two years ago, but experiences with friends riding them, have been illuminating.
  14. Dust Monkey's experience is exactly what I refer to as one of the ebike-benefits in article. Great to hear of a real life example validating a point in article. If battery life cycle and disposal are the issues of criticism against ebike, all composites are to be vilified too.
  15. I'm heartened by the robustness and quality of debate here. About trail wear, I highlighted this issue: "an issue around trail wear and maintenance that’s conveniently ignored in South Africa: mass and bike set-up. Heavier riders, will harm a trail more. Heavier riders on relatively narrow, stage-race width tyres (at high pressures), will do this even more so." About trail access, again, I think a point which is being ignored: "The momentum of trail access is empowered by participant numbers and people of influence – and they’re mostly mature stakeholders, unlikely to threaten Nino in a VO2 max test. If there are bikes that make these influential stakeholders ride more frequently and further, they’ll chair the negotiations for greater, lasting, trail access." And of course, this: "Of all the unconsidered benefits of e-MTBs, safety is the outlier. Imagine a member of your riding group has an off in technical terrain, and you’re at the bottom of a valley, with the nearest mobile phone signal at the drop-in point you’ve just descended from. You have a problem. The ability of an e-MTB to get back up faster than anything else, and make that emergency call for help, might gain those crucial few minutes between a manageable evacuation and the delirium of an emergency evacuation." Pedal assistance and open throttle. Two very different things.
  16. YT has won a World Cup series. Canyon has a very extensive portfolio of product: road to DH. Hence the choice as referencing them in the main, as opposed to Silverback, which has (arguably) stronger African roots then either.
  17. Stolen: Ibis Mojo SL 2010 When: 11 December 2016 Where: Cape Town, Western Cape They broke the rear window and took it out of my van. Fail. Get further details about the incident in the Stolen Bikes section
  18. The Switzerland of Africa. If you can tolerate the absence of trees. Phenomenal gravity trails around Windhoek and a lot of raw stuff everywhere else.
  19. " unless you're really trying." - With a grinder, as your primary tool.
  20. Nils Hansen. He's so hot right now (for those old enough to have seen the original Zoolander) Coolest individual in South African cycling. Top bloke. His infatuation with bikes is so natural and effortless, comes across with vivid authenticity on this edit.
  21. “I just sense an element of smug superiority about this and I detest that.” If you knew the people involved, it would dissuade you most strongly from that opinion. They are very much the antithesis of the superiority complex contamination which is seeping, with rampant toxicity, throughout mountain biking in South Africa. There is a gatekeeping policy with invites, the function of which is justifiable. If you run a suitable Enduro series placing, you could certainly feel aggrieved for not being allowed in. “ I'd be happy to participate in the event and come back here cap in hand when I get f***d up too.” And the guilt and admin of executing a complex evacuation? Consider that this is a burden for others to cope with. This is the crux I keep alluding to, and the reason why the event is invite-only and a pseudo-mate’s race of sorts. It is not an Enduro series event. Something to aspire to. These are choice words. Too many things in mountain biking are all-inclusive and not earned. You should have something to quest towards in your riding. One cannot buy the focus to clear the entry feature on the Plumber line, for instance. I can’t do it yet. And I could ride the old black with proficiency. This messes with my mind something stupid. But that double black is my project for 2016 and I curse Bennett and Hylton, but am also eternally grateful for them having gifted such a challenge to us. Same thing with this Enduro. If you are not invited, consider the entry requirements, and attempt to meet them. It’s a fantastic incentive methinks. Better than saying you are training for a stage race.
  22. “Watch the gopro's of the stages - they are rocky and long, thats all.” You are very much mistaken. GoPro cameras have a tremendous field of view, which has a terrific flattening/masking effect, numbing the shape terrain. It is not the choice unit of analysis for technicality, but a guide. When riders in or around the Enduro top 15 standings, start worrying – and consider not actually doing stages, I think the level of terrain challenge is beyond what most people would like coping with. That’s said, all rode, and conquered last year. It’s very big terrain. That image of Rika slipping off the rock step. Even the best can get caught out in an instant on those trails. Surely, the Enduro race rankings are a fairest mechanism of inviting? I would think so. Or if you have shown proficiency in big terrain. Or if you’re capable of producing great trail snacks and are willing to carry them in numbers enough to share with everyone else.
  23. The logistics and topography are extreme and more akin to TP or TS than any of the local Enduro one-day races. I assume there is a numerical tipping-point, where a competitive field will be too big – and the day’s riding will turn into night. And you really don’t want to come down certain sections there at night. Some of the stages are dual-purpose: climbs on the up, which turn to special stage descents. If you have a long line of staggered climbers, it does possibly complicate the actual racing. Worth remembering that this is a one-off special. It is not part of a series. Nobody is losing the opportunity to gain points or forego a championship. Visionary? Yes. Perhaps too visionary for South African mtb at the moment? I’d hope this not to be the case, but in the fullness of time we’ll see. The organisers have been planning astutely, considering the spectre of terrain and distances involved, and it certainly is their prerogative to continue with the invite-only formula; I’d think. Sacrifices in time and relationships built over years to make this event happen have all been their doing. If one does make an error of judgement on the really big stages, there are very real consequences. Not only the immediacy and severity of terrain you’ll collide with, but the difficulty of evacuation. And here the implication is that those invited know the risks and don’t expect miracle extraction in a matter of minutes if things go really badly. In view of this, it is perhaps best to invite people you know, and also know won’t attempt to litigate in a personal capacity against you or the land owner (the latter of which is a reality, unfortunately). As an aside, and perhaps most pointedly, the matter of it being shared across digital platforms and gaining notoriety is incidental in a time of instant content migration. That’s an unintended effect, not an affect.
  24. In particularly tragic news it has been confirmed that Canadian Stevie Smith, the 2013 UCI Downhill World Cup series champion has succumbed to injuries after an Enduro motorcycle incident. Smith was 26 years old, the most successful Canadian gravity racer of all time and quite a stellar all-round chap. His career had been afflicted badly by injury since his world title, which came to him at a comparatively young age. I'm sure the South African MTB community will be struck by the shame shock as our Canadian friends as news of this filters through today. Smith was a precious talent and very decent human being from humble origins.
  25. " I love that fork! Great build." Fox 36 on XC frame. Makes sense to the slightly mad amongst us. Others just stare.
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